Bliss in the sense of forever lasting happiness is impossible. End of suffering is impossible.
By developing awareness we can only minimize affective suffering and keep it to the lowest minimum. But we can’t become immune to it TOTALLY. In the earlier articles where I say getting rid of suffering is possible, the reader must now understand that by “suffering” there I mean “deep affective suffering”. Small variations of temper on the surface are unavoidable. That way, 100% immunity from suffering is impossible. But when one is perfectly aware, one’s grounding comes from a deeper level of awareness where one always finds oneself in contentment.
When I started my spiritual journey I did believe that end of suffering, and bliss (in the sense of forever lasting happiness), was possible. But with passage of time I realized that it is not. After it happened, I changed my idea of bliss to mean contentment by it. I am considering letting go of the word “bliss” totally from my writings in the future.
Contentment I meant as the state between happiness (that characterized by excitement) and suffering. If happiness is positive and suffering is negative then contentment is neutrality. This I still maintain. However, until recently I believed that contentment was the all-important thing in life. That one should always try to dwell in contentment, and not go after happiness, because then suffering will inevitably follow. But now I have changed my view a little bit —
Happiness (however transient it is by nature) is what makes life worth living. Pure contentment is the state of neutrality. While there may not be deep suffering in contentment (100% sufferinglessness is impossible), in it there isn’t very strong motivation to live, either. Hence, though one must cultivate one’s mind to dwell in contentment (because after all that is the only state consistent with the reality of existence), after it’s achieved one should not avoid happiness whenever it is happening.
But this is not to undermine the importance of contentment. He who never develops himselfspiritually (update: I no more subscribe to spirituality) philosophically with awareness, to also remain in contentment, will suffer deeply and miserably in adverse situations in life. While experiencing happiness one should not get carried away by it and forget about the reality of the existence.
Happiness is important to MAKE life worth living. And contentment is important to KEEP life worth living. Former is the function of emotions, while the latter is the function of intelligence. Both emotions and intelligence are equally important for a good life.
One doesn’t have to learn to be happy. Most of us are born with profuse emotions. So, happy events automatically make us happy without requiring efforts on our part. But in order to be contented the knowledge of the truth is required. Knowledge of the truth means perfect awareness about the existence. This one has to attain by intellectual endeavour. Rationality is an indispensable tool for it.
It should be noted that if one dwells excessively on reason (rationality), there's no life. And if one dwells excessively on instincts/emotions, life doesn't remain liveable. Balance between the two is the highest wisdom.
By developing awareness we can only minimize affective suffering and keep it to the lowest minimum. But we can’t become immune to it TOTALLY. In the earlier articles where I say getting rid of suffering is possible, the reader must now understand that by “suffering” there I mean “deep affective suffering”. Small variations of temper on the surface are unavoidable. That way, 100% immunity from suffering is impossible. But when one is perfectly aware, one’s grounding comes from a deeper level of awareness where one always finds oneself in contentment.
When I started my spiritual journey I did believe that end of suffering, and bliss (in the sense of forever lasting happiness), was possible. But with passage of time I realized that it is not. After it happened, I changed my idea of bliss to mean contentment by it. I am considering letting go of the word “bliss” totally from my writings in the future.
Contentment I meant as the state between happiness (that characterized by excitement) and suffering. If happiness is positive and suffering is negative then contentment is neutrality. This I still maintain. However, until recently I believed that contentment was the all-important thing in life. That one should always try to dwell in contentment, and not go after happiness, because then suffering will inevitably follow. But now I have changed my view a little bit —
Happiness (however transient it is by nature) is what makes life worth living. Pure contentment is the state of neutrality. While there may not be deep suffering in contentment (100% sufferinglessness is impossible), in it there isn’t very strong motivation to live, either. Hence, though one must cultivate one’s mind to dwell in contentment (because after all that is the only state consistent with the reality of existence), after it’s achieved one should not avoid happiness whenever it is happening.
But this is not to undermine the importance of contentment. He who never develops himself
Happiness is important to MAKE life worth living. And contentment is important to KEEP life worth living. Former is the function of emotions, while the latter is the function of intelligence. Both emotions and intelligence are equally important for a good life.
One doesn’t have to learn to be happy. Most of us are born with profuse emotions. So, happy events automatically make us happy without requiring efforts on our part. But in order to be contented the knowledge of the truth is required. Knowledge of the truth means perfect awareness about the existence. This one has to attain by intellectual endeavour. Rationality is an indispensable tool for it.
It should be noted that if one dwells excessively on reason (rationality), there's no life. And if one dwells excessively on instincts/emotions, life doesn't remain liveable. Balance between the two is the highest wisdom.
good to know that you are flexible enuf to modify your earlier beliefs, thats is what is needed..
ReplyDeletei like to see you one day discarding the word "spiritualism".. its too fashionable and mainstream.. and its all business seeking to benefit from depressed people and a total facade.
and dont take this spirituality and stuff too seriously unless you intend to make money out of it.. because at the end everyone has reached only one conclusion "the world as it is, that everyone is living is the best method" and i m sure u will come to the same conclusion.,
u do have a philosophical mind just dont disrepute it by claiming it to be spiritual..
I do not think I am wrong in calling myself spiritual, even if I do not believe in what you refer to as "mainstream spirituality" and its beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAs I have written earlier, spirituality (which is not exclusive of philosophy, by the way) is a science of happiness. In that way, anyone who is seeking truth about his existence in order to make his life better, with the aim of reducing suffering and learning to enjoy life in its true form, is spiritual.
Philosophy in general is concerned primarily with gathering knowledge of the truth. It's also truth-seeking, but the orientation is different. Making life enjoyable is not the aim of it. That's the difference, though subtle, between philosophy and spirituality. This what I think now.
you cant make ppl happy by making them understand theories, ppl r happy when gd things hppn to them..
ReplyDeleteAnd i think truth seeking should be an internal jouney wihtout influence from outside, it should begin as a curiosity, the questions shouldnt be influenced or trigged by others.. only when the questions and doubts germinate within can it be truely enjoyed..
there is no point in having paka pakaya theory, a person should be allowed to discover his own theories..
u say that understanding the working of the world provides cushion against sadness, i do agree to that, but the cushion is effective only when the person has discovered it himself, if he attains that knowledge by listening to some one, i dont think it will be affective.. he wont truly understand it..
when a mind is ready it will generate its own questions and supply its own answers..
I understand that the seeker has to walk the path himself. The ready-made knowledge won't help. But then I am not dictating any rules here. I am describing what I am learning on my journey. And I think if someone is on the same kind of journey then he can certainly benefit something out of it. This I can tell because I have also benefited out of reading other people, even if I do not agree with them. It's simple: Reading new and different ideas stimulates the mind.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone who has enormous knowledge and wisdom has reached that stage all by himself. Trying to know other people's ideas and contemplate them is also a part of the development process. Not all I am saying here may be right. But it can give the reader something to contemplate. That's what is the aim. Sometimes other people's strong ideas can help us to come out of our conditioning, and thus enable us to think in different directions.
What you seem to imply is that there should not be any sharing of knowledge. Because everyone who wants to develop would (or should) do that on his own. Sharing knowledge doesn't mean imposing knowledge. By coming across different perspectives, our minds become more flexible and eventually that is what is required for one to think for oneself.
And yes, people will be happy when good things will happen to them. But whether something seems good or not depends on the perspective. There's nothing intrinsically good or bad anyway. It is quite possible what someone sees as good, other sees as not-good. It's largely a matter of perspective. And the higher is one's awareness level the better and more conducive to happiness is the perspective.
Hence the importance of developing awareness.
Read the author's note I have added a few days back.
ReplyDeleteman sometimes bad things are just bad, like if i get cancer its bad only there is no perspective in that, same way i loose leg or things like that.. at a point of time bad things are bad because future course has not yet been decided.. that bad may lead to something good in future, but as i said future is undetermined.
ReplyDeleteits not science or history or like that..its not a field or subject, its like falling in love, nobody has to be taught to love, nobody needs to read philosophy about love or the chemistry involved,, it should just happen... and when it happens you do something stupid.. and thts magic and u slowly climb out of it and decide its all shit..
i dont know what stage u r at, but if u r on the same path as me, then at the end u will agree its all shit and it doesnt change anything, albeit i reached a conclusion much faster, since i started the journey much early.
i will sometime write about it,,
author's note is good, very apt. I also see u r becoming much humbler in your attitude and thoughts.. which is good. I see u r begging to realize that you could be wrong, earlier you were very vehemently attached to ur ideas.
ReplyDeleteTo your comment about "author's note": That's true. :)
ReplyDeleteTo the one before that: :) If you REALLY think it doesn't change ANYTHING internally in the person, then I am sure I am not on the same path as you. Because the change has already happened.
Again I will say I do not believe in "everlasting happiness and stuff", but the awareness does bring a huge perspective-shift which make life a lot more livable in every situation.
Anyway, it won't lead anywhere now. So stopping the discussion here.
Thank you for sharing your experiences as is.. valuable.
ReplyDelete